Some scouts feel Geno Smith's hands, which meaasured 9 1-4 inches, on the low side for a quarterback were partly why he fumbled 32 times.Hand
size, or the lack thereof is one of the reasons quarterback Daunte
Culpepper slid down the draft board to a dome team (Vikings) in 1992.

Smaller hands can create a grip issue particularly in cold weather.

Is hand size an issue for Kelly?E.J. Manuel, who the Eagles were sweet on, has 10 1-4 inch hands. He was drafted in the first round by the Bills.By the way, Andrew Luck has 10-inch hands, Robert Griffin III 9 1-2 inch hands, Russell Wilson 10 1-4 inch hands.Follow @BobGrotz on Twitter

Ertz catch helping Stanford beat Kelly, Oregon

Lane Johnson, Chip Kelly.

Evaluating this sequence of photos it's apparent Zach Ertz did make that hotly disputed scoring catch for the Stanford Cardinal to hand Chip Kelly and Oregon their only loss last season.Kelly and Ertz discussed the play at the scouting combine.

"When I first walked into the meeting room with him he asked me if it was a catch," Ertz said. "And I said, of course it was a catch. He said, 'alright, the film doesn't lie.' "

Later Ertz sent Kelly a note thanking him for the interview at the combine. The letter ended "P.S. It was a catch."

"I think at the end of the day I just wanted to remind him what happened when we played against them and just to get the last laugh," said Ertz, who caught 11 passes for 106 yards in that game.Ertz's grab knotted the game and forced overtime, the Cardinal prevailing by a field goal.Follow @BobGrotz on Twitter

Draft fell the way Kelly expected

Chip Kelly couldn't say enough about Lane Johnson, the offensive tackle he selected with his first overall pick as head coach of the Eagles, and No. 4 overall Thursday night.The way Kelly explained it, the Eagles knew they were going to get one of the top-rated guys on their board. Offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel went 1 and 2 to the Chiefs and the Jaguars. The Dolphins traded up from 12 to 3 to select Dion Jordan, the rush linebacker who played for Kelly at Oregon.

"We had four guys
at the top … exactly how the draft went," Kelly said. "It was the three OT’s and Dion. That’s
why we felt comfortable going into this. No matter how it fell we weren’t going
to be sitting there at 4 going we didn’t get our guy. But it was just that
group of four. So even if anybody traded ahead of us I knew they couldn’t pick two
people so we were still going to be OK."

One more draft for Ridley Park's Mike Dougherty

This is the last Eagles' draft for Mike Dougherty, the Ridley Park resident retiring as video director effective after the weekend.

For the 32nd year Dougherty is stationed in New York City to relay the Eagles' picks to the NFL. Dougherty has seen it all and then some.

One of the few things that hasn't changed over the years is the phone system. He's tethered to the Eagles by what today's standards looks almost like an antique phone.

In N.Y., Dougherty gets Eagles picks on this phone.

"It's gotten so big, it's gotten so crazy," Dougherty said of the draft. "It's a major thing now."

Dougherty spent some drafts with Jimmy Gallagher, the longtime public relations and personnel guy with the Eagles. Gallagher actually made some picks. Commissioner Roger Goodell inquired about Gallagher Thursday.

"He was just asking about Jimmy Gal," Dougherty said. "The Commissioner always asks. He never forgets."

Dougherty will miss the draft. He won't miss the time to be with his wife Marge and their children in retirement. After 37 years as the video director and 32 years making the Eagles' picks, he's earned it.

What's in the size of a QB's hands?

Manuel's hand measured 10 1-4 inches.

Among the interesting points brought to my attention is the reported hand size of Geno Smith, one of the top rated quarterbacks in this draft.The Eagles supposedly are hot on the trail of Smith, who they personally worked-out at West Virginia and brought in to tour the NovaCare Complex.

Which brings us to hand size. Smith's hand length measured 9 1-4 inches, which is on the low side for a quarterback. In the eyes of some scouts that lack of grip is the reason he fumbled 32 times.

Hand size, or the lack thereof is one of the reasons quarterback Daunte Culpepper slid down the draft board to a dome team (Vikings). By the way, in that same draft the cold weather Eagles selected Donovan McNabb, who had 10-inch hands.